JP2013046152A - Network system, household electrical appliance, information terminal, communication setting method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network system which can surely control a specific household electrical appliance from an operation terminal, a household electrical appliance, an information terminal, a communication setting method, and a program.SOLUTION: In a household electrical appliance 200, after connected to a network 300, a multidimensional code generating part 203 converts an IP address or the like to a multidimensional code, and a multidimensional code display part 204 displays the converted multidimensional code. In a mobile type information terminal 100, a multidimensional code reading part 104 reads the multidimensional code and a control part 103 converts the multidimensional code to the IP address or the like and accesses the household electrical appliance 200 using the converted IP address. Then, the control part 103, in accordance with an operation input of a controller part 105, transmits a control instruction, receives response results of the control instruction, and displays them on a display screen of the controller part 105.

Description

  The present invention relates to a network system, a home appliance, an information terminal, a communication setting method, and a program.

  In recent years, some home appliances such as televisions and Blu-ray recorders that can be connected to a network have appeared. You can access these home appliances from a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone and display the current status of the home appliance on the portable information terminal, or remotely control the home appliance by operating the information terminal. It is possible. Thereby, for example, a smartphone can be used as a remote controller for a television or an air conditioner.

  In order for the home appliance connected to the network and the portable information terminal to communicate, it is necessary to grasp communication setting information such as the IP address of the other party. Therefore, conventionally, a method for acquiring communication setting information when a home appliance is connected to a network has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this method, when a user of a communication network connects to a service provider, a connection device (such as a router or a modem) that enables communication between the user's device and the equipment on the service provider side is required.

  The service provider usually performs some kind of authentication for the user who requests connection. The user transmits the unique information for authentication distributed to the user by mail from the service provider to the service provider. If such unique information is stored in the connection device, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the unique information every connection. In the method according to Patent Document 1, a QR code (registered trademark) including unique information for connecting to a connection device is recorded on a fixed sheet-like recording medium, and this code is imaged on the connection device side. This saves typing.

  Furthermore, another method for obtaining communication setting information is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2). In this method, the portable information terminal and the home appliance include a first communication unit and a second communication unit having different communication ranges. When the portable information terminal enters the communication range of the first communication means of the home appliance, the home appliance receives communication setting information for establishing communication by the second communication means, and the first communication means. To the portable information terminal. The portable information terminal establishes communication with the home appliance by the second communication unit based on the communication setting information received through the first communication unit.

  In this method, since the communication is started when the portable information terminal and the home appliance come close to each other, the user can intuitively specify the home appliance by bringing the portable information terminal close to the home appliance.

JP 2010-61292 A JP 2009-37566 A

  In the acquisition method according to Patent Document 1, since the multidimensional code fixedly recorded on the sheet-like recording medium is used to transmit the communication setting information of the home appliance, the communication setting information determined at the time of network connection or It is impossible to transmit dynamic information such as the state of home appliances.

  For example, an identifier (IP address) of a home appliance in the network is dynamically assigned by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) such as a router when the home appliance is connected to the network. In order for a portable information terminal to communicate with a home appliance, it is necessary to know the IP address of the home appliance, but since the IP address is dynamically assigned, a multi-dimensional code is recorded in advance on a sheet-like recording medium. In this method, dynamic information such as an IP address cannot be transmitted.

  Further, in the acquisition method according to Patent Document 2, when there are three or more portable information terminals and home appliances within the communication range, it is specified which portable information terminal and home appliance are communicating. It becomes difficult to do. In this method, non-contact communication means such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used as the first communication means. Communication with a non-contact communication means such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may become unstable if the positional relationship between the portable information terminal and the home appliance changes.

  As described above, in the conventional system, communication connection between the portable information terminal and the home appliance is often difficult, which has been an obstacle to constructing a system for controlling a specific home appliance from the operation terminal.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a network system, a home appliance, an information terminal, a communication setting method, and a program capable of reliably controlling a specific home appliance from an operation terminal. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a network system according to the present invention is a network system including an information terminal and a home appliance. In this network system, the home appliance generates a multidimensional code based on a first communication unit that performs communication using a predetermined communication method and communication setting information that is used for communication by the first communication unit. A multi-dimensional code display unit that displays the multi-dimensional code generated by the multi-dimensional code generation unit, and a control command received via the first communication unit, and returns a result of the execution as a response. 1 control unit. The information terminal also communicates with a multidimensional code reading unit that reads a multidimensional code displayed on the multidimensional code display unit of the home appliance and converts it into communication setting information of the home appliance using a predetermined communication method. A second communication unit that accesses the first control unit via the first communication unit to control the home appliance based on the communication unit and the information converted by the multidimensional code reading unit. A control unit.

  According to this invention, the home appliance converts the dynamically assigned communication setting information into a multidimensional code and displays it. On the other hand, the information terminal reads the displayed multidimensional code, converts it into communication setting information, and communicates with the home appliance based on the converted communication setting information. In this way, dynamic information can be converted into a multidimensional code and transmitted between the home appliance and the information terminal. Further, since the communication setting information is transmitted between the home appliance and the information terminal by displaying and reading the multidimensional code, the information terminal can uniquely identify the home appliance. As a result, the specific home appliance can be reliably controlled from the operation terminal.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a flowchart of a process of a portable information terminal. It is a flowchart of a process of household appliances. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process of a household appliance main body. It is a flowchart of a process of a household appliance operation terminal.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network system 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the network system 1 includes a portable information terminal 100 and a home appliance 200.

  The portable information terminal 100 is, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a mobile computer. Home appliance 200 may be any home appliance that can be connected to network 300. Home appliance 200 may be, for example, a television, an air conditioner, or other home appliance.

  The portable information terminal 100 and the home appliance 200 can communicate with each other by connecting to a network 300 as a communication network. The network 300 dynamically assigns communication setting information such as an IP address to the home appliance 200. That is, the home appliance 200 has a different IP address and the like each time it connects to the network 300.

  A configuration of the portable information terminal 100 will be described.

  The portable information terminal 100 includes an antenna 101, a communication unit 102, a control unit 103, a multidimensional code reading unit 104, and a controller unit 105.

  The antenna 101 is an antenna for connecting to the network 300 by wireless communication. As the antenna 101, for example, a dipole antenna is employed because of its simple structure. The antenna 101 is connected to the communication unit 102.

  A communication unit 102 as a second communication unit is a communication interface for connecting to the network 300 via the antenna 101. The communication unit 102 performs communication using a predetermined communication method. The communication unit 102 is a communication interface of, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The communication unit 102 is connected to the control unit 103.

  The control unit 103 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory (both not shown). The control unit 103 exhibits its function when the CPU executes a program stored in the memory. The control unit 103 is connected to the multidimensional code reading unit 104 and the controller unit 105. The control unit 103 inputs data from the communication unit 102, the multidimensional code reading unit 104, and the controller unit 105, and transmits appropriate outputs to the communication unit 102 and the controller unit 105.

  The multidimensional code reading unit 104 includes a camera that captures a multidimensional code (for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera), and a processor that analyzes the captured multidimensional code and converts it into data. With. More specifically, the multidimensional code reading unit 104 reads, for example, a multidimensional code displayed on a multidimensional code display unit 204 of the home appliance 200 described later, and converts the read multidimensional code into data for control. To the unit 103. As the multidimensional code, for example, a QR code (registered trademark) which is a kind of two-dimensional code can be adopted.

  Note that the analysis of the multidimensional code and the conversion to data may be performed by the control unit 103.

  The controller unit 105 as an operation unit and a display unit includes, for example, a liquid crystal screen as a display unit that displays image information and an operation button as an operation unit that receives an operation input from a user. Based on the data input from the control unit 103, the controller unit 105 displays the state of the home appliance 200 on the liquid crystal screen and provides an interface for the user to operate the home appliance 200.

  The control unit 103 transmits a control command based on the operation input information received by the controller unit 105 to the communication unit 201 via the communication unit 102, and receives information received from the communication unit 102 via the communication unit 201 as a controller It is displayed on the display screen of the unit 105.

  Then, the structure of the household appliances 200 is demonstrated.

  The home appliance 200 includes a communication unit 201, a control unit 202, a multidimensional code generation unit 203, and a multidimensional code display unit 204.

  A communication unit 201 as a first communication unit is connected to the control unit 202 and the network 300. The communication method of the communication unit 201 is the same as that of the communication unit 102 of the portable information terminal 100. However, the connection to the network 300 may be wired or wireless. For example, even if the communication method of the communication unit 102 is a wireless LAN, the communication method of the communication unit 201 can be wired.

  The control unit 202 is connected to the multidimensional code generation unit 203. The control unit 202 controls the home appliance 200 according to the data received from the communication unit 201, the state change of the home appliance 200, and the like. The control unit 202 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory (both not shown). When the control unit 202 receives a request to display a multidimensional code from the communication unit 201 or another communication interface, the control unit 202 transmits data to be displayed to the multidimensional code generation unit 203. The data to be displayed includes communication setting information such as the IP address and port number of the home appliance 200, for example.

  The multidimensional code generation unit 203 is connected to the multidimensional code display unit 204. The multidimensional code generation unit 203 generates a multidimensional code based on data (for example, communication setting information) sent from the control unit 202, and transmits the generated multidimensional code to the multidimensional code display unit 204.

  The multidimensional code display unit 204 includes a display (display screen), for example, a liquid crystal screen. The multidimensional code display unit 204 displays the multidimensional code transmitted from the multidimensional code generation unit 203 on the liquid crystal screen.

  The network 300 is a communication network to which the portable information terminal 100 and the home appliance 200 are connected. On the network 300, for example, there is a broadband router to which the home appliance 200 is connected.

  The portable information terminal 100 and the home appliance 200 are connected to the network 300 at a timing such as when the power is turned on.

  Next, the operation of the network system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

  First, processing of the portable information terminal 100 will be described. FIG. 2 shows processing of the portable information terminal 100.

  First, the control part 103 waits until the connection request to the household appliances 200 is input by the operation input of the controller part 105 (step S111; No). When the connection request is input (step S111; Yes), the control unit 103 activates the multidimensional code reading unit 104 and is displayed on the multidimensional code display unit 204 of the home appliance 200 by the multidimensional code reading unit 104. The multi-dimensional code is read (step S112).

  The multidimensional code includes communication setting information necessary for the portable information terminal 100 to access the home appliance 200 via the network 300. The communication setting information is, for example, the IP address or port number of the home appliance 200.

  The read multidimensional code is converted into communication setting information by the multidimensional code reading unit 104 (step S113). The converted communication setting information is sent to the control unit 103. Based on the communication setting information input from the multidimensional code reading unit 104, the control unit 103 accesses the household electrical appliance 200 via the communication unit 102 (step S114).

  The control unit 103 acquires, for example, information on the home appliance 200 through the communication unit 102 (step S115). Such information includes information related to the function of the home appliance 200. Subsequently, the control unit 103 displays the acquired information on the display screen of the controller unit 105 so as to be visible to the user (step S116).

  Subsequently, the control unit 103 waits until a control command is input via the controller unit 105 (step S117; No). When the control command is input (step S117; Yes), the control unit 103 transmits the control command to the home appliance 200 via the communication unit 102 (step S118).

  Then, control part 103 waits until a response is received from household appliances 200 (Step S119; No). When the response is received (step S119; Yes), the control unit 103 displays information on the execution result of the control command included in the response as information on the home appliance 200 on the display screen of the controller unit 105.

  Then, the process of the household appliances 200 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of processing of the home appliance 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 202 acquires communication setting information such as an IP address and a port number after connecting to the network 300 (step S211). Subsequently, the multidimensional code generation unit 203 generates a multidimensional code based on the communication setting information received from the control unit 202 (step S212). Subsequently, the multidimensional code display unit 204 displays the generated multidimensional code (step S213).

  The generation and display of the multidimensional code may be performed immediately after the home appliance 200 is connected to the network 300, or may be performed at a timing when a user input such as a button operation of the home appliance 200 is received. Also good.

  The control unit 202 waits until a control command is input from the portable information terminal 100 via the communication unit 201 (step S214; No). When the control command is input (step S214; Yes), the control unit 202 performs control. The instruction is executed (step S215). Subsequently, the control unit 202 returns the execution result of the control command, that is, a response to the portable information terminal 100 via the communication unit 201 (step S216).

  As described above in detail, in the network system 1 according to this embodiment, the home appliance 200 generates and displays a multidimensional code based on dynamically assigned communication setting information. The portable information terminal 100 reads the displayed multidimensional code, converts it into communication setting information, and communicates with the home appliance 200 based on the converted communication setting information. In this way, dynamic information can be converted into a multidimensional code and transmitted between the home appliance 200 and the portable information terminal 100. Further, since the communication setting information is transmitted between the home appliance 200 and the portable information terminal 100 by displaying and reading the multidimensional code, the portable information terminal 100 can uniquely identify the home appliance 200. it can. As a result, dynamic information can be reliably transmitted and received one-to-one between the home appliance 200 and the portable information terminal 100.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary for the user to perform communication settings in the portable information terminal 100, and anyone can communicate easily.

  Note that the multidimensional code in this embodiment includes only communication setting information. However, it is good also as a code | cord | chord containing the information regarding the household appliances 200, such as model information, function information, and a state of the household appliances 200. FIG. By using a multidimensional code including model information, function information, status, and the like of the home appliance 200, the multidimensional code reading unit 104 of the portable information terminal 100 reads the multidimensional code and converts it into information on the home appliance 200. The control unit 103 can display the converted information (for example, model information) of the home appliance 200 on the controller unit 105. In this way, the user can easily confirm whether the multidimensional code has been correctly recognized.

  In addition, the model information displayed at this time may display the acquired model information in characters, or may include icon image data of the home appliance 200. If the icon image data of the home appliance 200 is included, the icon can be displayed. Further, some icons may be held in advance on the portable information terminal 100 side, and the icon corresponding to the acquired model information may be displayed on the controller unit 105.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the network system 1 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, network system 1 in the present embodiment includes portable information terminal 100, home appliance main body 210, network 300, and operation terminal 400.

  The portable information terminal 100 and the home appliance main body 210 are connected to the network 300. In addition, the home appliance main body 210 and the home appliance operation terminal 400 can communicate ad hoc.

  The configuration of portable information terminal 100 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The home appliance main body 210 further includes a communication unit 205 in addition to the communication unit 201, the control unit 202, and the multi-dimensional code generation unit 203, which are components of the home appliance 200 according to the above-described embodiment.

  The functions of the communication unit 201 and the control unit 202 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The multidimensional code generation unit 203 is connected to the communication unit 205. The multidimensional code generation unit 203 generates a multidimensional code based on the data (for example, communication setting information) received from the control unit 202, and transmits the multidimensional code to the communication unit 401 of the home appliance operation terminal 400 via the communication unit 205. Send.

  The communication unit 205 performs data transmission / reception with the communication unit 401 by a communication method different from that of the communication unit 102 and the communication unit 201. The communication method is, for example, infrared communication.

  Household appliance operation terminal 400 includes a communication unit 401 and a display unit 402. The home appliance operation terminal 400 is a remote controller attached to the home appliance 200, for example.

  The communication unit 401 is connected to the display unit 402. The communication unit 401 communicates with the communication unit 205 of the home appliance main body 210, receives the multidimensional code transmitted by the communication unit 205, and transmits it to the display unit 402.

  The display unit 402 displays the multidimensional code received from the communication unit 401.

  Next, processing of the network system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  First, processing of the portable information terminal 100 will be described.

  The processing of portable information terminal 100 is substantially the same as that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the QR code is read from the multi-dimensional code display unit 204 of the home appliance 200. However, in this embodiment, the portable information terminal 100 is displayed on the display unit 402 of the home appliance operation terminal 400. Read multi-dimensional code.

  Next, processing of the home appliance main body 210 will be described. FIG. 5 shows processing of the home appliance main body 210.

  The control unit 202 connects to the network 300 (step S221). Thereby, communication setting information such as an IP address and a port number is acquired. Subsequently, the multidimensional code generation unit 203 generates a multidimensional code based on the communication setting information received from the control unit 202 (step S222). Subsequently, the control unit 202 transmits the multidimensional code to the home appliance operating terminal 400 via the communication unit 205 (step S223). The generation and transmission of the multidimensional code may be performed immediately after the home appliance 200 is connected to the network 300, or may be performed at the timing of user input such as button operation.

  Subsequent processing of household electrical appliance 200, that is, steps S224 to S226 are the same as steps S214 to S216 that are processing of household electrical appliance 200 in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, processing of the home appliance operating terminal 400 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The home appliance operating terminal 400 waits until it receives the multidimensional code transmitted from the home appliance main body 210 via the communication unit 401 (step S421; No). When the multidimensional code is received (step S421; Yes), the display unit 402 displays the received multidimensional code (step S422).

  As described above in detail, according to this embodiment, display unit 402 for displaying a multidimensional code is provided not on home appliance main body 210 but on home appliance operation terminal 400. In this way, it is possible to display a multi-dimensional code representing communication setting information at a location away from home appliance 200. Thereby, for example, a multidimensional code can be acquired even for a home appliance main body 210 that is installed on a ceiling or the like and cannot easily access the portable information terminal 400.

  In this embodiment, the multidimensional code generation unit 203 is a constituent element of the home appliance main body 210, but may be a constituent element of the home appliance operating terminal 400. In this case, what is transmitted from the home appliance main body 210 to the home appliance operation terminal 400 is not multidimensional code but communication setting information. The home appliance operating terminal 400 that has received the communication setting information generates a multidimensional code by the multidimensional code generation unit 203 and displays it on the multidimensional code display unit 204.

  In the first and second embodiments, portable information terminal 100 and home appliance main body 210 may be directly connected to ad hoc.

  In the above embodiment, the program to be executed is a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and an MO (Magneto-Optical Disc). A system that executes the above-described program may be configured by storing and distributing the program in a medium and installing the program.

  Further, the program may be stored in a disk device or the like of a predetermined server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and may be downloaded, for example, superimposed on a carrier wave.

  In addition, when the above functions are realized by sharing an OS (Operating System), or when the functions are realized by cooperation between the OS and an application, only the part other than the OS may be stored in a medium and distributed. You may also download it.

  Various embodiments and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In other words, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the embodiments but by the claims. Various modifications within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the equivalent invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is suitable for information display and remote operation related to the state of home appliances such as a television set and an air conditioner installed in a house.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network system 100 Portable information terminal 101 Antenna 102 Communication part 103 Control part 104 Multidimensional code reading part 105 Controller part 200 Home appliance 201 Communication part 202 Control part 203 Multidimensional code generation part 204 Multidimensional code display part 205 Communication part 300 Network 400 Home appliance operation terminal 401 Communication unit

Claims (9)

A network system including an information terminal and a home appliance,
The home appliance is
A first communication unit that performs communication using a predetermined communication method;
A multidimensional code generation unit that generates a multidimensional code based on communication setting information used for communication by the first communication unit;
A multidimensional code display unit for displaying the multidimensional code generated by the multidimensional code generation unit;
A first control unit that executes the control command received via the first communication unit and returns the execution result as a response;
With
The information terminal
A multidimensional code reading unit that reads the multidimensional code displayed on the multidimensional code display unit of the household electrical appliance and converts it into communication setting information of the household electrical appliance;
A second communication unit that performs communication using the predetermined communication method;
Based on the information converted by the multidimensional code reading unit, the second communication unit accesses the first control unit via the first communication unit to control the home appliance. A control unit;
A network system comprising: The information terminal
An operation unit for receiving operation input information;
A display for displaying image information;
Further comprising
The second controller is
A control command based on the operation input information received by the operation unit is transmitted to the first communication unit via the second communication unit, and the first communication is transmitted via the second communication unit. A control unit for displaying information received from the unit on the display unit;
The network system according to claim 1, further comprising: The multi-dimensional code reader is
Convert the read multidimensional code into functional information of the home appliance,
The second control unit causes the display unit to display the converted function information.
The network system according to claim 2. The home appliance is
The home appliance body,
An operation terminal having the multidimensional code display unit;
Comprising
The network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An information terminal used as a controller for home appliances connected to a network,
A multidimensional code reading unit that reads the multidimensional code displayed on the multidimensional code display unit of the home appliance and converts it into communication setting information of the home appliance,
A communication unit that performs communication using a predetermined communication method;
Based on the communication setting information converted by the multi-dimensional code reading unit, a control unit that controls the home appliance by accessing the home appliance via the communication unit;
An information terminal comprising: A communication unit that performs communication using a predetermined communication method;
A multidimensional code generation unit that generates a multidimensional code based on communication setting information used for communication by the communication unit;
A multidimensional code display unit for displaying the multidimensional code generated by the multidimensional code generation unit;
A control unit that executes the control command received via the communication unit and returns the execution result as a response;
Home appliances equipped with. The multidimensional code display unit is provided in an operation terminal separated from the main body,
The household electrical appliance of Claim 6. A communication system communication setting method including an information terminal and a home appliance,
In the home appliance, a multidimensional code generation step of generating a multidimensional code based on communication setting information used for communication,
In the home appliance, a multidimensional code display step of displaying the generated multidimensional code,
In the information terminal, a multidimensional code reading step capable of reading a multidimensional code displayed on the display of the home appliance,
In the information terminal, in the multidimensional code reading step, the conversion step of converting the read multidimensional code into the communication setting information of the home appliance,
In the conversion step, based on the converted information, a communication step for establishing communication with the home appliance,
Communication setting method including A computer that controls home appliances
A first communication unit that performs communication using a predetermined communication method;
A multidimensional code generation unit that generates a multidimensional code based on communication setting information used for communication by the first communication unit;
A multidimensional code display unit for displaying the multidimensional code generated by the multidimensional code generation unit;
A first control unit that executes the control command received via the first communication unit and returns the execution result as a response;
To function,
The computer that controls the information terminal,
A multidimensional code reading unit that reads the multidimensional code displayed on the multidimensional code display unit of the household electrical appliance and converts it into communication setting information of the household electrical appliance;
A second communication unit that performs communication using the predetermined communication method;
Based on the information converted by the multidimensional code reading unit, the second communication unit accesses the first control unit via the first communication unit to control the home appliance. A control unit;
Program to make it work.

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